Midwife versus Doctor versus Doula versus Partner

Let’s just start by saying that I am not, in any way, trying to compare the role of a labour support provider with those offering primary care to a pregnant or labouring mom. I am simply outlining the kinds of questions I get from clients in my classes and those I meet on the street when they find out what I do. The questions often unfold like this:

Client: “What do you do?”
Me: “I provide labour support to a woman or couple towards the end of pregnancy and through the first few weeks with a new baby. I am sometimes called a ‘doula.’”
Client: “Oh. Isn’t that like being a midwife?”
Me: “No, midwives are the primary care providers to their clients through the pregnancy and until the baby is 6 weeks old.”
Client: “So she sees a doctor as well as a midwife?”
Me: “No, she sees a midwife instead of seeing a doctor.”
Client: “Ahhh, but then when does the doctor come in?”

We run in circles for a while until I am able to explain that, in the majority of cases of midwife attended births, there isn’t ever a need for a mom to see a doctor. I remind this client that a midwife goes to university for many years (with five semesters dedicated to learning in a hands-on, cooperative setting). This often helps begin to unveil the understanding that I knew was bubbling just under the surface.

**Note: Midwifery care is different from country to country, indeed from region (within a country) to region. I am writing about what I have witnessed in the province of Ontario, Canada.**

So many people have this strange idea that all midwives want their clients to deliver by a babbling brook under the willow tree. It was a very carefully contrived image painted into the minds of many people during the years when doctors first began to attend births in hospitals instead of midwives attending women in their homes.

Most of the doctors I have met have a very healthy respect for midwives and the role they play in straight-forward, low-risk pregnancies and births. They appreciate the fact that midwives care for the patients that don’t require an obstetrician’s expertise, allowing them more space in their schedules to look after the moms who are experiencing what are considered “high risk” pregnancies.

It is true that there are some doctors who seem to view it as a competition and who see midwives as “less-skilled.” However, my experience has shown me that if they were to truly investigate why they feel this way, they would recognize that it is more often due to a jealousy they feel as a result of not being able to care for their patients in the same way a midwife cares for her own.

While there are very few truly “high risk” pregnancy and birth situations, they do sometimes exist. For those mothers it is essential that they have a chance to birth with an individual who specializes in risky birth scenarios. Obstetricians bring a surgical skill, developed through their medical school studies, that midwives just simply do not have. This skill is why a midwife will defer to an obstetrician when vacuum, forceps or caesarean birth are necessary.

Midwives hone their skills around catching babies born vaginally with minimal interventions in place. They have had a chance to develop a relationship with their clients through the course of the pregnancy. A typical prenatal visit with a midwife is 15-30 minutes in duration. They are scheduled that way to allow time for a comfort level to be established thereby creating a safe environment in which an expectant and new mother is able to voice her curiosities, fears, and celebrations.

The likelihood that a midwife you have met will be at your birth is considerably higher than the possibility you will see a doctor you know. This is due to fact that doctors practice in much higher group numbers than midwives.

So, I have outlined some of the key differences I see between birth doctors and midwives. What are some of the ways that midwives differ from the role of a ‘doula?’

The focus of the labour support provider (aka: doula) is to work for the woman/couple having the baby. She is there to provide emotional and physical information and support. She is not there to assess the well-being of the mom or the baby. She is also not going to perform any vaginal examinations or blood pressure checks.

Most of the couples I work with hire me because they have either been in my prenatal classes or they have heard about me from other people. When they have been in my classes they have had chance to learn what my approach to birth is and how I truly believe in the ability of a woman’s body to bring forth a baby. They like the way I trust them to be able to transcend their fears and be the pillar of strength as well as the epitome of calm. I am there to help them stay relaxed and focused. I am there to help their partner with the physical support mom will need as well as to offer ideas and suggestions about the best way to guide her along her journey.

Many midwives are able to offer exactly the same types of skills I bring. They are able to balance their charting and care-giving with aiding in providing the emotional and physical support mom needs. I don’t see myself taking away from how a midwife can help a labouring woman in a birth setting. I see myself there as a part of the circle of power she can draw upon.

I am often asked about whether or not my role might conflict with or diminish the role of mom’s partner. I truly hope I would never do that. I want to augment, support and highlight her partner’s place at her side. I firmly believe, and have witnessed myself, that the larger the circle of love and support a woman can create around herself the safer she feels. When she feels safe she is more easily able to relax and the smoother the birth process unfolds. When I write about having a large circle I want to be sure to underline that I don’t mean that everyone needs to be in the room with the mom-to-be. Just knowing the support is there is sometimes more than enough.

The biggest challenge for many moms-to-be is allowing herself to be completely honest with herself about who makes her feel the most safe. For some women that means she wants a midwife, doula, partner, family and friends nearby. For others it is important for her birth to be a private and intimate experience. I want each mom to listen to her heart and if she knows she won’t be able to let go and be herself if her mother, sister, or best friend from high school is in the room with her then they need to understand and show her respect by not making her feel badly when she asks them not to stand at her side.

As a labour support provider, I am also there to help the partner through the process. Yes, mom is my primary focus however, birth and becoming parents is a life changing experience and it is supposed to be monumental. It isn’t meant to be easy. It isn’t meant to be painless. It is supposed to be intense (emotionally and physically) as well as joyful, empowering and enlightening.

There is a time and a place for everyone who works in the field of labour and birth. I am not one to suggest otherwise. I simply want people to see the value in creating the kind of care network that makes you, as a pregnant woman, feel the very best and most safe.

Doctors have a role to play. Some births absolutely would NOT happen without the benefit of their skills. When it comes to vaginal birth though their part is often fairly small when it comes down to the actual labour and birth. That said they, as midwives, should be working with moms through the pregnancy to give women the power to believe in their bodies’ ability to birth babies. If you have that in your care provider, you are luckier than you know!

Posted by Sam

(The first two pictures in this post are of me - the first immediately after the birth of a baby, the second with a baby whose birth I attended - and finally a photo of three past clients and their first babies. These three have become friends as they have gone on to birth more babies with me.)

Acupuncture and Chiropractic Care For Pregnancy and Birth

People who know me, who know what I like and don’t like, know that I don’t always run with the most “popular” beliefs. I tend to run against the grain, test the way things are done and ask multiple questions to see if there are better, less linear ways for events to transpire.

This is no less the case when I look at and discuss the birth process. I am more an advocate of “alternative” therapies than I am of allopathic medicine. This isn’t always the case with every single birth experience I encounter, but it is for the vast majority of them.

Recently I posted about using massage therapy and/or homeopathic remedy in pregnancy and during childbirth. While I have seen these techniques work beautifully for some of the moms I have worked with, I must admit that I have had more experience working with pregnant and labouring women who have had the opportunity to reap the benefits of acupuncture and chiropractic therapies.

I have been lucky enough to be in communication with Dr. Cynthia Chan, the co-owner of King West Chiropractic Health Centre in downtown Toronto, Canada. In the following few paragraphs I will let her outline how her chiropractic and acupuncture therapies can work strongly to the advantage of my client.

In the first segment, Dr. Chan outlines how acupuncture can be used, how it worked well for her and how she used it in conjunction with homeopathic remedies. I have added her comments about the use of chiropractic care immediately following.

Acupuncture & Pregnancy/Labour

Acupuncture can be utilized during pregnancy to reduce nausea and provide pain relief. There are certain acupuncture points to avoid when treating a pregnant patient, specifically Li4 (web of the thumb/index finger), Sp 6 (3 finger widths above the ankle), St. 36 (lateral knee), Du 20 (top of the head) and GB 21 (in the middle of the trapezius muscle). We avoid these points during pregnancy because they have the potential to induce labour. Some of the above listed points can be used effectively when a pregnant patient is beyond 40 weeks gestation and would like to induce labour naturally.

What to expect in during an acupuncture session:
• I advise my patients to have a good breakfast before receiving acupuncture to avoid potential dizziness with low blood sugar.
• The needles are very thin and only penetrate superficial skin and muscular tissue. If you are prone to bruising I usually apply Traumeel cream to the area after removing the needle.
• The needles stay in for 15-20 minutes on average.
• Depending on your comfort level and problem area you will either be lying on your side, on your back or on your stomach (at our clinic we have pregnancy pillows which allow our patients to lie on their stomachs comfortably).
• There may be a gentle buzzing or heat sensation elicited by the acupuncture needle. You may also feel energy (Chi) moving through your body. That is a desirable response called De Chi.

My Birth story:
As mentioned above the same acupuncture points we try to avoid during pregnancy are very effective in trying to induce labour. I gave birth to my son Desmond on September 1, 2008. He was officially 5 days late when I woke up that morning to leaking amniotic fluid. My midwife advised me that if my body didn't go into natural labour within 12-16 hours that I would need to be induced at the hospital. Since my husband and I were planning a home birth and I wanted to avoid medical induction if possible I started treating myself with the acupuncture points Li4 and Sp 6 on both hands and ankles in the early afternoon as well as taking certain homeopathic remedies. By mid-afternoon my water had really "broken" and there was meconium present in the aggressive amniotic flow. We moved quickly to the hospital to assess if the baby was in distress. Fortunately the fetal heart rate was strong however I still needed to be transferred to medical care at that point. They planned on starting the oxytocin drip at 6:30pm. My body began contractions around 6pm, which helped speed the labour process. Desmond was born at 11:32pm after approximately 5.5 hours of labour. I credit both the acupuncture and homeopathy that helped my body start the labour process.

Dr. Chan’s own thoughts about the use of chiropractic care follow:

Chiropractic adjustments during pregnancy are a safe and effective choice of health care. I recommend that my pregnant patients receive chiropractic adjustments for the following reasons:

1. Natural Pain Relief
Your body will undergo many changes during the 40-week gestation period. There are hormonal changes affecting ligaments and subsequently joint movement. If you suffered from joint pain in your neck, back or pelvis before your pregnancy the same areas may feel more sensitive during pregnancy. Chiropractic adjustments can restore normal joint movement, relief muscular discomfort and stimulate the nervous system to heal the area faster.

2. Shorter Labour
Ensuring all the pelvic joints (pubic bone, sacro-iliac joints, lumbo-sacral junction) are moving properly is essential for a smooth labour. It is important that the mother's pelvic outlet is unrestricted and as open as possible to allow smooth passage of the baby's head and body.

3. Reduced chance of Breech Presentation
Uterine constriction, which can lead to a breech presentation, is often caused by restriction in the round ligament and fixations in the sacro-iliac joints. Chiropractic care can address both of these issues thereby preventing a breech presentation. Also the Webster Chiropractic technique is an effective treatment for patients already presenting with a breech position.

There are many different chiropractic techniques. I use a combination of manual diversified and Activator techniques for my pregnant patients. Activator is an excellent low-force alternative to the traditional manual adjustments. To view an Activator adjustment please refer to the home page of my clinic website www.kingwestchiropractic.com.

Let me tell you a little more information about Dr. Cynthia Chan. She graduated from the Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College in 1997. She then studied acupuncture in Sri Lanka, Beijing and Toronto. She is the co-owner of King West Chiropractic Health Centre in downtown Toronto. For more information regarding Chiropractic & Pregnancy please contact Dr. Chan at 416-815-9595 or info@kingwestchiropractic.com.

Posted by Sam

What Doulas REALLY do!!

One of the “hazards” of being a “blogging doula” is that there are times that I have some great ideas for posts to write however I find myself to busy with births to be able to have time to get my thoughts into my computer. Such has been the case recently. There is another baby boy AND a baby girl in the world and I am happy to report that everyone seems to be doing very well.

Now that I am back and am putting together a post, I can’t remember any of the great ideas I had before. So, I will write what I know.

I am often asked what moms/couples should bring with them to the labour room in terms of “tools” for comfort. I must be honest, the two most effective items I have with me at any time in the labour process are: my voice and my hands.

I know that I can control almost any situation by being able to get a mom I am working with to listen to my voice. I suppose it bodes well for me that I don’t have a high-pitched, ultra soprano timbre when I want to help focus a mom’s attention. I have a fairly deep alto and it rumbles well in my throat when I want to model low, relaxed vocalization techniques.

Did you know that there is a physiologic correlation between having a relaxed jaw and throat and being equally relaxed in your pelvic floor to facilitate progress in labour? If you feel an overwhelming urge to moan and make noise with your contractions just be sure to keep your pitch low and don’t force the air out. Relax your vocal chords and let the air and the sound escape, slowly, together.

Other than the way I use my voice while talking, moaning, or sharing information with a labouring mom to help her stay focused and happy through contractions I use my hands to help apply counter-pressure on mom to relieve discomfort if her baby is not in the most optimal foetal position. I also use my hands to gently pull relaxation along her body with long, broad strokes of touch. I know that if my hands are moving very slowly and in a direction away from her heart then I will not only be able to calm her with my touch but I will also be able to keep her breathing slow and rhythmic.

I teach couples to have tennis balls, rolling pins, hot/cold packs, massage tools, and their favourite music with them in their bags when going into the labour room. I think all of these options offer them the chance to have techniques that might work well for them without them having to “know” what works at different times in labour.

I teach partners how to touch a labouring woman and I remind expectant mothers to be honest regarding what feels good and what does not. It can be challenging to try to help her feel as relaxed, supported and comfortable as we want to if she doesn’t tell us when we are way “off the mark.”

At the end of the day, I think every couple should have a doula with them in their labour room. I recognize, however, that this isn’t really an option for every couple. That said, many of you would be surprised at the spectrum of services doulas offer, the sliding scales some work with and how many cities have volunteer doula programs in place.

If I can give you more information or help steer you in the right direction to find the best kind of support for you during your birth process, please let me know. I have a multitude of resources at my fingertips.

Some include:
DONA International
Doula C.A.R.E.

Posted by Sam

CARNIVAL POST- My nursing toddler story

**This post is part of a collection of posts for the Carnival of Breastfeeding series: "This is what a nursing toddler looks like." Mine will be a little different than most. It is one that my 11 year old, long since weaned, helped me put together. Hope you enjoy it and I hope you will click on some of the links at the end of my post to read the articles submit by other writers.**

If you’ve read any of my posts before this one then you will know that I breastfed both of my children beyond their first year. I have to preface everything that I write with a note about the fact that I have been blessed with a life partner who sees the benefits of extended breastfeeding and understands that our role as parents is to create the safest, most emotionally stable and healthiest environment possible for our children. There was never any question or pause for alarm when breastfeeding our eldest child extended beyond the maternity leave that many of my peers used as a guide.

As I sit to write this post, for the “This Is What A Nursing Toddler Looks Like” Carnival my eldest child, Ferg, sits across the table and recounts his memories of breastfeeding. Funny, I wasn’t sure he even remembered his breastfeeding experience although he was well past three when he decided he was finished.

I didn’t know what I would write as a contribution for this Carnival. Last month I used an old article but this time I wanted to write something new, something fresh. The challenge, as many of you know, is finding a new way of saying something you have tried to tell people before. So, this time how about I try it from his perspective?

He sits with his warm beverage in his hand and I ask him if he remembers breastfeeding. “Sure,” he tells me, “some of it.” Ferg was three years and about eight months old when he weaned himself. I don’t remember the exact date of the last time he nursed but I suspect that it was around the middle of the month. We had had a death of a child in our circle of friends and I wasn’t coping particularly well. It wouldn’t surprise me if my very wise little man knew that I needed some space. He is just that kind of child.

I ask him what he remembers best and “fun” is the word that rolls off his tongue. I’ll be honest that’s not what I expected him to say. “Fun” was never a word I would have thought to use to describe our intimate and private relationship but, I remind myself, I am not a child and am not used to looking at the world through a child’s eyes.

He goes on to explain what he meant when he used the word “fun.” “It was fun because I got to do one of my favourite things, snuggle with my mom,” (and BTW Ferg’s primary love language is touch) he told me with a warm smile, “and because it felt like we got to eat from a magical food supply.” When describing this last bit further he remarks upon the reality that the breasts only release the milk when a child is latched properly and is actively nursing, otherwise the milk stays inside. Fair enough. I know that I knew it to be “magical” but I never thought about my children thinking of it in the same way.

He smiles broadly and makes sure I know that he thinks, “breastmilk is the tastiest and most nutritious food there is.” He then sits back and offers a list of benefits to breastfeeding that he can think of off the top of his head: “it bonds a mother and her kid, it allows mom to relax while she is breastfeeding her baby, protects her against that bone thing you talked about . . . “ “Osteoporosis?” “Um, yeah. That. And it’s a portable food supply.”

He then goes back to doing what he was doing before this conversation even started and I continue reviewing articles about benefits to moms and babies when extended breastfeeding is offered. I feel as though I am missing something. Never mind, I am sure it will come.

My mind drifts to a conversation Ferg and I had about 6 months ago. I don’t remember the specifics about how this particular discussion began but I do remember that he was quite certain that he would someday find a life partner and become a father and that his own children would be breastfed. I reminded him that he couldn’t force that to happen and that he would need to have a long talk with his partner about what her choices were before making such broad statements. “What if she doesn’t want to breastfeed,” I asked cautiously?

“Well, I wouldn’t have babies with her then.”

“How do you know?”

“I would talk to her about it when we first start dating. So she knows how important it is to breastfeed a baby.”

Uh oh. What had I done? I could see women racing away from our house in packs.

Then I sat back and recalled a story that my friend, T, had told me about her own son. He had had similar feelings about breastfeeding and he had spoken about these feelings, while VERY early in his relationship, with the woman he eventually married. Each of their babies was not only breastfed, but each child was offered the opportunity to wean when he or she was ready. Okay, there was hope for Ferg after all.

He turns back to me and with a grin tells me about one of his favourite breastfeeding memories. “It was dark and dad was sleeping in the bed beside us. I was nursing and so was Quinn. You were looking after both of us.”

So, perhaps the benefits of breastfeeding beyond infancy are not simply physiologic for mom and for her chid. Perhaps they are psychological too. And perhaps, when the nursing pillow is put away, those memories and feelings are the best of all of the benefits that we can leave our children with.

Posted by Sam

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I Breastfed Because I Should

Those who took the time to read my previous post, “I Breastfed Because I Could” will know that I did not have a considerable number of struggles to overcome when learning to breastfeed my eldest child. I worked through learning what was normal and how to read his cues and then we were off on a splendid and fascinating journey of mothering through breastfeeding.

When my second child came along I knew that he would be fed at my breast alone, as his brother had done. He came into the world a couple of pounds smaller than his big brother but he was no less interested in his food source.

Everyone will tell you that all babies are different. Those words felt like a cop-out to me, until I met my second child. How could he be from the same gene pool? He was smaller in every way. He fell asleep when I put him down. AND, on top of all of that, as an infant he never wanted to nurse for comfort. Who WAS this scrawny little monkey-baby?

Regardless of his outward appearances he was OUR baby and he had lucked into the ultra-sensitive gastro-intestinal tract genes of both my maternal family and the maternal family of my husband. Within a couple of weeks of my baby’s birth we knew he had something going on in his belly. By the end of the first month we had more than just green, mucousy stools to look at, we had blood in the diaper as well.

I have never been so grateful in my life for the work that I do. As an accredited La Leche League (LLL) Leader (a journey I embarked upon after the birth of my eldest son) and Lactation Specialist I had at least some understanding of the warning signs that might present when food intolerance is an issue.

My son had infantile colitis. He was not taking any animal milk protein directly, everything he ingested was filtered through my breasts and still he was bleeding and in pain. I began to eliminate all potential allergens from my diet. No casein (animal milk protein), gluten, or egg for two weeks. After I managed to evacuate my body of these foods and therefore allowed my son’s body to be cleared of them as well, my plan was to slowly reintroduce each item for a week to see if it would have an effect.

The eggs were clear. I was able to eat eggs and products containing eggs every day if I so desired without any ill effect on my baby. Gluten was not so well received. Within 24 hours of having a piece of toast and jam my baby was sporting a bumpy “rash” on his back. Patches on the elbows were more skin discolorations than actual bumps but with Caeliac’s Disease in my family, it wasn’t a risk I was willing to take.

Next I tried dairy. I started simple. Butter on boiled new potatoes. Within hours my son was screaming in agony and by the next morning we could see trace amounts of blood in his stool again. I felt exactly like the most horrible monster the planet had ever seen.

Wow. No gluten and no casein. My diet was about to change. This ultra-strict vegetarian was about to re-visit her food options. I had a newborn and a three year old and I couldn’t think straight. My husband and I talked about reintroducing meat to our diet. (He was eager and I was reluctant.) At the time I couldn’t see any other way for me to be able to find the necessary daily dietary requirements while still trying to stay sane.

Ah, sanity. It’s a slippery slope that one, isn’t it?

The strict diet and worries about my son’s health were only a couple of the stressors that presented that particular summer and fall. When my baby was only 6 months old I was finally diagnosed with postpartum depression. I knew I’d needed help when I found myself bawling in the car on the side of the road, children in the back seat, chanting over and over again: “I’m not coping. I’m not coping.”

I don’t know that I would have survived the whole ordeal of all the challenges 2001 brought to our family if I hadn’t continued to breastfeed. The reality was that it was the one thing that I felt like I was doing right. I wasn’t going to give that up any time soon.

My youngest consumed nothing other than my milk until we gradually began to introduce solids around 9 or 10 months of age. Given his sensitive tummy I was reluctant to start anything else too soon and he didn’t appear to be in a hurry either.

Our respect of his casein sensitivity allowed his body time to grow and mature. We, as a family, recognize that we are not designed to drink the milk of another species and so don’t have much of it in the house. My boys don’t drink big glasses of animal milk but they do like to treat themselves to ice cream or cheese products from time to time. They both seem to know when they have had too much and back away. Neither of them like the way that human bodies produce excess phlegm and nasal mucous when too much casein has been consumed. We just weren’t meant to have it past infancy.

Were it not for breastfeeding, I don’t know what kind of health issues my youngest may or may not have had to struggle with all of his life. I will be forever grateful to my body for producing the miracle food he needed.

And here are my two breastfed boys in 2009! Long since weaned but still pretty cute in my opinion!

Posted by Sam

I Breastfed Because I Could

For as long as I can remember I have hated having to carry my breasts around. As a teen I was the first of my peers to develop breasts and I was the brunt of considerable snickering, teasing and all of the other great stuff that comes with pre-pubescent boys discovering their attraction to breasts.

When I was pregnant with my first baby I never considered that I may not be able to breastfeed him. I mean, if you were “blessed” with the endowment I sported you would assume, as I did, that they were in place for a reason.

I do not come from a long line of “breastfeeders.” My mother gave birth to me in an era when it was not only not encouraged but it was openly discouraged. I don’t actually know where the assumption about breastfeeding came from in me; I just know that when I pictured my new baby in my arms, I envisioned nourishing him at my breast.

The prenatal classes I took didn’t seem to cover the how-tos of breastfeeding and so I depended on the information I was able to get by attending a local La Leche League (LLL) meeting. For those of you who are not familiar with LLL, they are an international organization with the sole mandate of offering peer support to new and expectant mothers who want to breastfeed their babies.

I lucked into finding a notice about an upcoming LLL meeting in the “Community Calendar” section of our community newspaper. When I got there I met many breastfeeding moms and their babies. I heard people talk about “Bringing A Breastfed Baby Home” and I began to learn some of the dynamics of how breastfeeding should unfold. When I left I was given the name and number of the meeting’s Leader and was told that I was welcome to call her when my baby was born, if any questions, comments or concerns presented.

My eldest son was born in the spring of 1998 amid a flurry of activity and excitement. The interventions introduced at his birth created an environment wherein he found nursing a challenge and, in the first few days, difficult to stay awake for. He, as with many babies exposed to medications during the labour process, experienced a significant case of jaundice. While he was born at a healthy weight, he was not helping himself along because he was too sleepy to wake for a full feed.

This worry didn’t last more than a few days and, by the end of the first week, we were experiencing the opposite problem. I called my LLL Leader one night as she was putting her own daughter to bed. She promised to call me back as soon as she could and within the hour she had kept her word.

I outlined the reason for my initial call: my baby was nursing every hour, on the hour, for an hour. I am sure I was exaggerating slightly but I was a new mom and I did not have anyone close to me who had breastfed. I wasn’t sure what was normal.

Even when I was feeling stressed out, even when I had family members wondering if I had enough milk, even when I would have killed to sleep more than two consecutive hours, I never thought about stopping. I only thought about how to make it better.

My LLL Leader reminded me that adults sometimes have days when they could graze all day and not be completely satisfied, just like babies. She also reminded me that my baby and I were just learning the intricate dance of breastfeeding together. She asked me not to forget that my body was made to meet the needs of my new baby. He was telling me what he needed from me and I needed to take the time to hear him. Before saying her good-byes, she assured me that it would get easier. He and I would learn quickly from one another and would figure out how to make the whole process smoother and more enjoyable.

My body was designed to breastfeed. My baby was designed to receive my breastmilk. Together we were the perfect unit.

My eldest son went on to breastfeed for longer than most of his peers. It was a relationship through which both he and I received benefits. He was able to receive the perfect nutrition for his growing body, food that targeted the parts of him that needed extra attention as he mastered new skills and antibodies to help protect him from any illnesses or viruses that he was exposed to.

I was able to reap the benefits of decreasing my odds of developing degenerative bone disease in the form of osteoporosis (a genetic condition that I see my own mother struggle to stay on top of), female hormone-fed cancers (another potentially genetically-vulnerable disease in my family) and delayed return of my menstrual cycle. (I admit the latter was the benefit that stood out as being the best at the time!)

I am honoured to be able to visit and help many new, breastfeeding pairs of moms and babies. I do what I can to help them see that they have all that their baby needs and that it will get easier.

Posted by Sam